Community Church continues Groundhog’s Day Feed on Feb. 3

Weiser Community Church is happy to resume their annual Groundhog’s Day Feed after last year’s hiatus. This annual event began in 1953 and has become a favorite local tradition. In 2023 476 people attended and 62 people came in for take-outs, proving the event is a great mid-winter community get-together.

 This year the event will be held on Monday, Feb. 3. Traditionally it is held on Feb. 2, unless the second falls on a Sunday. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dinner will be served from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children ages 6 through 12.

 Co-pastor Jon Lerew will greet everyone during the lunch hours and co-pastor Kip Hicks will greet everyone during the dinner hours.

 The menu will remain the same as it has for decades: sausage patties, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, apple sauce, coleslaw, cookies and ice cream.

 Lori Robbins, co-committee chairperson, said, “We will again have walk-in take outs, only this year it will be located in the church pantry to make the foot traffic flow more efficiently.”

 All food and labor is donated. Weiser Community Church nor the volunteers keep any of the proceeds. Every penny collected is donated to local charities. After each annual event the planning committee votes on which local charities to donate the money to.

 This is truly a labor of love. The committee begins meeting monthly starting in September, then in January the meetings increase to once a week.

 Often teens from Arrow-Heart come in to assist with the clean-up afterwards and are given a free meal in exchange. Co-chair persons, Ron and Lori Robbins, look forward to these teens returning again this year.

 In past years Ridley’s Family Market has donated 50% of the costs for the feast’s coleslaw and ice cream. Mary Dimmitt, the store director, shared how Ridley’s is pleased to be able to donate 100 percent of those costs this year.

 In 1953 the Groundhog’s Day Feed began as a fundraiser for the Brethren Church. A local farmer donated a pig and many members donated apples. The church members handmade the sausage and applesauce as well as every other item on the menu.

 When the Brethren Church merged with the Congregational Church in 1966 to become Weiser Community Church the congregation voted to continue the Groundhog’s Day Feed.

 Karen Penner, former pastor’s wife at Weiser Community Church, shared how in 2017 the snow was so heavy they postponed the Groundhog’s Day Feed until April. Also the church was able to hold the event in 2020 because the COVID lockdown did not happen until afterwards.

 Ron and Lori Robbins both affirmed how they will do their best to continue this annual event which is valuable to the community.